TracyPostling
Member
HELP!
I know this possibly comes as standard to most horsey owners who have had years of pasture management but I would really appreciate some pointers on how to do it properly!
I purchased a property with 14 acres in March. This is split into two 7 acre fields roughly one Summer one Winter field according to the old owner - but she had a flock of sheep. When she moved, the sheep disappeared and I inherited a bare Summer field and a pooh ravaged Winter field with hardly any grass left on it.
I have 4 horses of my own, one old boy who needs as much goodness as he can get and little knowledge of pasture management!
So here the tale really begins. I left them on the Winter field with hay until approx May. I had the Winter and Summer fields dragged and rolled and the Summer one re-seeded. The result was grass up to your chin and more grass than the poor horses could get on top of! Along with nice long grass, came weeds - thisltes and ragwort because the weather turned and the field has to this day not been sprayed.
So this weekend I had both paddocks topped. Nasty, horrid weeds have now gone, but so has my grass. So now I am not sure what to do for the best.
At the moment I have divided the Summer field into 2. I was planning on rotating the horses every 9-14 days roughly between the 2 parts of the Summer field and leaving the Winter one alone and moving them around Oct / Nov and doing the same with this - rotating them between the 2 sections of the Winter field and resting the Summer one. However, I am now thinking that I don't want the Winter one have grass so long that maybe it is best to graze this too and have a weekly rotation between all 4 fields and rest the Winter one from Aug - Nov. I was also thinking in the Winter I could open up the whole 14 acreas and let them roam around the whole lot seeking out new grass, but I don't want to get to the Summer and have nothing.
Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!
I know this possibly comes as standard to most horsey owners who have had years of pasture management but I would really appreciate some pointers on how to do it properly!
I purchased a property with 14 acres in March. This is split into two 7 acre fields roughly one Summer one Winter field according to the old owner - but she had a flock of sheep. When she moved, the sheep disappeared and I inherited a bare Summer field and a pooh ravaged Winter field with hardly any grass left on it.
I have 4 horses of my own, one old boy who needs as much goodness as he can get and little knowledge of pasture management!
So here the tale really begins. I left them on the Winter field with hay until approx May. I had the Winter and Summer fields dragged and rolled and the Summer one re-seeded. The result was grass up to your chin and more grass than the poor horses could get on top of! Along with nice long grass, came weeds - thisltes and ragwort because the weather turned and the field has to this day not been sprayed.
So this weekend I had both paddocks topped. Nasty, horrid weeds have now gone, but so has my grass. So now I am not sure what to do for the best.
At the moment I have divided the Summer field into 2. I was planning on rotating the horses every 9-14 days roughly between the 2 parts of the Summer field and leaving the Winter one alone and moving them around Oct / Nov and doing the same with this - rotating them between the 2 sections of the Winter field and resting the Summer one. However, I am now thinking that I don't want the Winter one have grass so long that maybe it is best to graze this too and have a weekly rotation between all 4 fields and rest the Winter one from Aug - Nov. I was also thinking in the Winter I could open up the whole 14 acreas and let them roam around the whole lot seeking out new grass, but I don't want to get to the Summer and have nothing.
Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!